Man ditches car for month and uses Uber, Lyft

AUSTIN, TX (KTRK) -- Could you give up your car and use on-demand transportation like Uber? One Texas man did just that.

Austin native Josh Waldrun used both Uber and Lyft for 30 days to see if it would be more cost effective than driving his personal car. Even though Lyft is not operating in Houston, Waldrun's results will give you an idea of how much money you would spend to get around town.

"What if I gave up my car for a month? It's really easy when you are leaving the bar at night to get home because there are drivers everywhere, but on the contrary it was not super easy to get one at 9 in the morning," Waldrun said.

With just a few taps on his phone, getting to work on time, going out with friends, and even grocery shopping proved to be pretty easy for Waldrun. He lived about 4 miles from where he works in Austin and kept most of his commutes short.

"Bring up your phone, open the app, click a button, select where you are on the map, and then it sends out a signal to all the nearby Uber drivers. Whoever wants to pick you up selects that, and in about 4 minutes they will be here," Waldrun explained as he ordered an Uber for Eyewitness News.

During the experiment, Waldrun saved money on gas and the usual wear and tear on his car. He also got to meet new people in his hometown that were his daily drivers.

"Met a ton of students that were doing this on the side, all walks of life. Stay at home moms to make a little extra income," Waldrun said.

Waldrun said the experience is always one he will remember thanks to the great experiences he had in Uber and Lyft vehicles.

"I don't think I've ever had one positive taxi experience where I thought, 'Wow, that was a great taxi ride,'" Waldrun said. "With Uber, all of the rides I had were awesome drivers, positive, fun, and kept the conversation going."

During the 30 day experiment, Waldrun saved a total of $110, including gas and insurance, but he says he will continue to keep a car in the garage.

"Nothing replaces having a car and just driving when you need to get out," Waldrun said. "Happy to have it back, but I'm a huge fan of Uber and Lyft and have nothing negative to say about them. It was a great experience."

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For a complete breakdown of Waldrun's experiment, click here.

To read Waldrun's blog on the experiment, click here